Off topic-ish, sry... I live in a small town that can't really support record stores, but what's it like in bigger cities that can these days? I mean, with online buying/stealing as big as it is, are they sort of going away / getting more specialized? At one time I thought they'd become more popular than ever, people would discover more music with greater ease and therefore buy more, but I think that's just me / people like me. What's the skinny, yo?

I don't know. A friend of mine just opened a record shop in South London (The Dream Machine in Dulwich - obligatory plug!) which seems like a brave move when so many record shops are closing down. I shall be interested to see how it fares.

I have the space, which is free (part of my house - and local regulations allow businesses in the home), a Visa Merchant account, Paypal, an eBay account, a Discogs account (which I'm thinking can function as a de facto web site for stock listing), and a fair amount of stock. I know I need a business license, business cards, a land line, and some physical modifications to the space (wall shelves, crates, etc). What I especially need more info on is distributors, and distro contacts. I'm basically going to be working on the small-but-good model of Wall Of Sound in Seattle, TD's in Bloomington Indiana, Exile in Portland, etc. I am interested in how people typically set up accounts with distros, how to contact ones people think are good, and what the usual minimum orders are.

I'm also sure I'm missing other crucial details, which is why I'm asking.

i like how that reads like it's one genre. it would be funny if you went into their store and they only had 5 avant-garde japanese noise industrial art-rock indie alternative free-jazz folk experimental ambient world electronic electro-acoustic neoclassical records and nothing else.

Dear Louisville, and all who have shopped, supported, and loved ear X-tacy over the years,

It has been a dream come true...actually, a dream exceeded, to be part of your musical lives here in Louisville for the last 26 years. My life was changed forever, and guided by the power of music since I can remember. Music has been the soul, the heart, the passion of my life for my entire 56 years. The record store experience has been the only child in my life. Now, it's time for me to let it fly.

Thank YOU...for allowing me to be part of your musical universe. Louisville, you made me feel like I was truly HOME when I moved here in 1976. It's been a great ride, but as George Harrison knowingly said, "All Things Must Pass." It's with sadness, but also with great pride I say to you now...

ear X-tacy is no more

Long live ear X-tacy!

Please keep the music alive. Support the incredible music scene and independent businesses we have here! Until you leave this great city, you cannot realize what a unique treasure we have here. Embrace it, celebrate it, and promote it. Love it.

Thank you all for making my dreams come true. Thank you for making ear X-tacy the wonderful place that it was. I thank all of the staff that made this store THE hub for music in Louisville for the past 26 years. Please take pride in knowing that YOU have been the heart and soul of what this store became. Thank you for sharing my dream and exceeding all of my expectations! To all of the musicians who have graced our store and stage, I cannot tell you what a thrill it's been. From the local newbies to the incredibly huge national artists...THANK YOU for gracing our store and sharing you incredible musical talents with us all...that's what I like to call: "earX-tacy".

Used to drop by Discovery a lot when I lived in the east end - now it's a bit of a hike so I rarely go, but if I'm looking for something specific on vinyl it's nice to know you can see if he has it on the website. Going into the store itself can be a bit intimidating for the casual music fan, though...if you're not a huge fanatic, especially about vinyl, I get the feeling that the owner might come off as a bit condescending sometimes...just because he's really into what he's doing, I'm guessing. (He's also got a nice stash of 78s in the back room, if you've got a couple hours to go through them.)

sad about ear x-tacy. since my sister moved to louisville, i probably bought 100+ records there, from right at the beginning of my music-buying life (6th or 7th grade); till the last time i made it down that ways a year-plus ago (got a steal on the used Loren Connors 2CD As Roses Bow). though i agree their collection had gone downhill in recent years, my tastes had also gotten more esoteric. always had a pleasant time while i was there though...stacking shitty used CDs and figuring out which combination i could afford.

News like this makes me glad my local stores are still doing OK. There are four of them in a town of 150,000 (we used to have seven). One sells a LOT of games and DVDs to get by. One still focuses on CDs, I can't really imagine how they will continue. They added vinyl a few years back but it is completely picked over now. One is a small specialty store (with tons of decent-to-good vinyl and CDs) that depends heavily on cigarette income. The other is the venerable H0use Of Rec0rds, still going strong after who knows how many years (35?). They are continually reclaiming CD shelf space in order to stock more vinyl, new and used. They say business is fine, so I hope they'll be here for at least another decade before the data cloud takes over our brains.

(xposts) I dropped into Discovery once or twice many years ago--didn't realize it was still around. (I don't venture east much anymore.) I don't know if this is a fair statement or not, but my recollection is that it was a little on the pricy side. Do you guys remember Open City on the Danforth? That was the only store east of Yonge I ever regulary trekked out to; I thought their prices were really good, I almost always came away with a few albums.

I took some photos a few years ago for my site of all the locations where my favourite Toronto record stores once were (or, in a couple of instances, still are--Sam's, of course, has since vacated).

Haha, I didn't realize you were Clemenza, Phil - have seen your writing about!

I definitely remember Open City - he always seemed to get a bunch of good recent releases in his CD stacks at the counter, probably castoffs from a reviewer. Also had a great basement of discounted items and I almost always found something good to leave with. It was a sad day when he decided to pack it in because his prices were definitely more reasonable than Discovery and it was a lot closer than the Books Plus at Main or the downtown stores!